Levi: I think the 3DS is a great way to continue the DS legacy, keeping all of the good stuff about the DS, but then adding glasses-free tech on top of it. The catch? The 3D is optional. And though I enjoyed most of my demo sessions with the 3DS at E3, I never saw a game use it in service of gameplay. It's a drop-on effect, something you use to make a game look cool. (I do not doubt, though, that a very clever developer will find a way to incorporate 3D into gameplay - after all, the first 8-9 months of DS games made poor use of the touchscreen.)

The 3D is a really cool effect when it works, but the drawbacks of having a sweet spot, not being able to relax your eyes, etc. dampen my enthusiasm for the 3D itself. There is nothing on the iPhone 4 I need to turn off.

Craig hit on something about gaming behaviors on an iPhone -- the length of a game session: "I never see myself playing iPhone for any more than five minutes at a time, but to be honest it seems Apple is happy with that number." I think he meant it as sort of a slight, but I don't see it that way at all, probably for a different reason than Apple.

GodFinger for iPhone can be played for 5 minutes or 5 hours.

I already have a 360 and PS3 for extended sessions on epic games. But there are some great epics on the iPhone like Zenonia. However, the iPhone is perfect for slipping game time into the cracks in your day and having a fun, complete experience at an unbeatable price. However, now with the iPhone 4 advancements, those games look better than ever.

Craig: Levi, don't read into what I said about five minute sessions being a slight against the system, that's where Apple and its developers excel. I just meant that in a "I'm not going to play Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on my iPhone, just Scrabble" thing. I'm not going to whip out my DS just to take my turn...I'll be more focused and engaged when I have to get out my game system.

Keep in mind when you say "the 3D is optional," you don't mean "for developers." If you make a game on the 3DS, you better hope there's some sort of stereoscopic effect in there whether you have the switch turned on or not. Not supporting it would be like leaving one of the screens blank on the classic DS system.

And that's why I see a lot of developers embracing the 3DS: it'll be a test bed for stereoscopic 3D game design. Teams will build out 3D designs starting on the 3DS because of the "100-percent penetration" element. 3D games could potentially evolve thanks to Nintendo's 3D push.

Not the Virtual boy.

Greg: Yeah, yeah, yeah -- 3D is the buzz right now, but it's not going to ensure that the 3DS is the handheld of the future. The iPhone has the best chance because -- as we've already said -- it does other stuff. The iPhone's already in people's pockets, so it's likely that they'll be more inclined to toss the $3 to the little developer than go out and buy a 3DS along with some new cartridges. The iPhone opens gaming up to the masses; the 3DS continues to speak to a specific crowd.

Levi: Couldn't the same charge be leveled at the PSP then?

Greg: Of course, but no one's saying the PSP is the handheld of the future.

Levi: Nintendo really needs to get a hold of the download market with the 3DS. You would think Nintendo would relish the chance to cut out the retailer and go directly for the customer, but I just did not see that killer instinct with DSiWare. Sony sees farther ahead of the curve than Nintendo in this respect, although it completely botched Minis, which were supposed to be an answer to the App Store.

Greg, what does Sony need to do to keep up here? I know the PSP has a host of great games and several more are coming this year, but how does Sony compete with Nintendo's 3DS and the ubiquity of the iPhone? I'm not a kneejerk negative on the PSP, but I really don't see an advantage for Sony in this fight.

I mean, the one negative I see for Apple right now is price. The iPhone 4 is expensive and has sizeable monthly cellphone fees. I think when Apple eventually creates the next iPod Touch with iPhone 4 tech, Nintendo and Sony will be in more trouble than they already are.

Are games like God of War: Ghost of Sparta enough to keep the PSP going?

Greg: In all honesty, Sony doesn't keep up here -- it lets go. The PSP has a handful of awesome games coming this year (Valkyria Chronicles 2, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, etc.), but Sony's been open about focusing the device on the tween audience in 2010. To me, that signals that the company is moving away from the PSP and onto the PSP 2 or whatever the successor will be called.

In that respect, Sony keeps up by announcing a new device that's always connected, cheap and allows everyone to develop for it. Otherwise -- just like the current PSP -- Sony resigns itself to targeting a very small audience.